Suzi Wallis | Counsellor & Family Therapist | Ellerslie North, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa

Are you a people manager?

Do you look after, or are you responsible for others in your workplace? Your employees and colleagues may, from time to time, require (and benefit from) some help in the form of counselling. They may have things going on in their personal lives, or at work, which are impacting their ability to do their work well.

Current health & safety legislation puts significant responsibility on employers in New Zealand, to take care of their employees on multiple levels - physically, emotionally & mentally. The sooner you refer employees for help, the better off they, and your organisation will be.

If you notice these signs of stress:

reduced or limited concentration
anger or irritability
inability to complete tasks
tearfulness
a change in their behaviour from quiet to louder, or the other way around
decreased performance or productivity
more health issues than previously noticed
an increase in leave taken (particularly sick or stress leave)
conflict with colleagues

it could be beneficial to approach them and offer them some professional help. If you want your employees to be more resilient and productive for you, please consider referring them to me.

Many companies in New Zealand belong to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP). This can involve the employee calling a toll free number and asking for counselling as part of their employer's EAP. Others have an intranet where employees can access counsellors' contact details.

Most employers belonging to an EAP programme offer a minimum of three sessions paid for by them; it's confidential and there is sometimes the opportunity to apply for 1-2 more sessions if the need is high.

Choosing your counsellor as part of an EAP

Your employee may feel more empowered if they can choose the counsellor they see as part of their employer's EAP. Some providers offer this. If not, feel free to check out my website first, then contact your EAP provider, to let them know you'd like your case assigned to me.

How do I identify who my employer's EAP provider is?

If it's not obvious from the literature available through HR, have a look at the list below - and see which toll free number correlates to your provider. You can then choose whether to see me as part of your EAP allocation.

Instep | 0800 284 678
Southern Cross Wellness Partners (formerly Raise) | 0800 735 343 or EAP SELF HELP
Telus Health (formerly Benestar) | 0800 360 364
Vitae | 0508 664 981 (or 0800 666 367 for Converge Australia clients, Vitae are the NZ agent).

Clearhead don't have a contact number - they are available at this link.

I do not contract to the EAP providers below:

EAP Services | 0800 327 669 or EAP NOW
Hunterlink (although I may be able to invoice this company directly on your behalf)
OCP | 0800 377 990
Workplace Support | 0800 443 445 Upper South Island | 0800 332 200 Lower South Island

We don't have an EAP at my work

No problem; just email me, with the appropriate billing information, and the number of sessions approved.

I will see your employee confidentially, and invoice the company directly.

Ask your employee to contact me directly (or provide their contact information), so we can set up some appointments.

How much experience have you had?

I have been working with counselling clients since 2002.
For more information about me, my process and the way I work, check out this page.

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